Bungling FBI chief Kash Patel gifted security chiefs a pair of pistols during an official overseas visit—which then had to be confiscated and destroyed by police as they are illegal under local law.
The Trump-appointed FBI director had flown to New Zealand in late July to open the bureau’s first standalone office in the country—but promptly left his hosts with a diplomatic headache.
The pistols were meant as symbolic or decorative items, but New Zealand gun laws treat inoperable firearms as operable if it is possible to make them functional again.
Patel presented “challenge coin” display stands that included 3D-printed plastic pistols to Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and the directors of New Zealand’s spy agencies, AP reported.
Chambers confirmed he had ordered them to be “retained and destroyed.”
The FBI declined to say what permissions, if any, Patel sought before flying the weapons into Wellington.
New Zealand’s firearm laws are among the strictest in the developed world, hardened after the 2019 Christchurch massacre.
Pistols are tightly restricted and require special permits, and 3D-printed guns need an additional permit.
None of that appears to have factored into Patel’s souvenir strategy. AP says the recipients sought advice the day after receiving the stands, and regulators concluded the items couldn’t be kept.
However, even some of Patel’s critics attempted to dismiss the New Zealand incident.
Ex-FBI agent James Davidson—who opposed Patel’s appointment—called the destruction “an overreaction” and said the gesture seemed genuine.
Yet Patel’s early tenure has been marked by missteps that have earned the former podcaster and Trump ally his nickname ‘Keystone Kash.’
They have included numerous failings in the FBI’s investigation of the Sept. 10 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which has seen his job called into question, and an uber-touchy reaction to questions over his agency’s failure to release the so-called ‘Epstein files.’
Even before his pistol pratfall, Patel’s Kiwi trip had already been controversial, reported AP.
His remarks suggesting the new office would counter China’s influence drew a polite brush-off from New Zealand officials—who emphasized joint work on child exploitation and drug smuggling—and a complaint from Beijing.
The outlet reports the office had been overseen from Canberra since 2017 and that news of the standalone hub only emerged after Patel’s ribbon-cutting.
The Beast has contacted the FBI for comment.
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